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| A.M.
Costa Rica: Food and good eating More recipes are HERE |
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San
José, Costa Rica,
Monday, June 17, 2013, Vol. 13, No. 118
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Go to Page 4 HERE! Page 5 is HERE! Page 6 is HERE! Page 7 is HERE! |
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| U.N. food agency kicks off campaign to boost nutrition | |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Global hunger, poor nutrition and obesity are costing the world trillions of dollars in health costs and lost productivity, according to a new report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. The report says fighting hunger is not enough. Tackling the more complex problem of malnutrition calls for action across the entire food system, from farm to fork, it said. About 870 million people worldwide are hungry, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. But malnutrition is about more than just hunger. “Two billion people are deficient in essential vitamins and minerals," said Kostas Stamoulis. "One child in four under the age of five is stunted. And 1.4 billion people are overweight.” He is with the Food and Agriculture Organization. The report says the combined effects of all these forms of malnutrition cut the world’s income by an estimated 5 percent per year, or about $3.5 trillion. While about 40 countries have reached the goal of reducing hunger by half, there is a long way to go to improve nutrition. Stamoulis says that is because good nutrition has not been the top priority. “There has been more effort and more success in providing people with the quantity of food that would allow them to overcome what we call the undernourishment problem," he said. "But we need a little bit more coordination and better focus on malnutrition.” The focus on nutrition is a new approach for the Food and Agriculture Organization. The effort needs to involve players throughout the entire food system, from farmers and food processors to consumers and government agencies, according to the agency's deputy director-general, Daniel Gustafson. “Everyone has to have nutrition goals and nutrition outcomes in mind throughout the food chain, and throughout all our |
work," he
said. "And
that is, in fact, a significant change.” That work includes promoting diverse diets, boosting the production of nutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables, and cutting waste, which claims nearly a third of the food produced worldwide. Stamoulis praised modern food processing, packaging and retailing for its efficiency, making meals available and affordable in ever-increasing areas. But he cautioned that ready access to unhealthy meals is also contributing to obesity. Ultimately, Stamoulis says, consumers are the key to making healthy food systems work. “You can process food properly, you can produce it properly, you can have the possibility to supply diverse diets," he said. "But if they are not consumed, the impact that we expect will be low.” The International Monetary Fund says recession-ridden France needs to increase the pace of its economic reforms or risk falling further behind its European neighbors. The IMF predicted Tuesday that the French economy, the euro currency bloc's second biggest after Germany, would regain strength in the second half of this year. But the IMF said that for all of 2013 it expects the country's economic fortunes to fall two-tenths of one percent before advancing eight-tenths of a percentage point next year. The Washington-based agency said France's competitiveness gap with its European trading partners is growing. The IMF said French companies have a faltering rate of productivity growth, low profit margins and declining exports. It said higher wages have hurt company profits, which in turn have hurt the country's competitiveness in international trading. The 17-nation eurozone is mired in an 18-month recession, its longest since adoption of the euro in 1999. Europe has sent billions of dollars in bailouts to five countries to help them avoid bankruptcy. —
June 5. 2013
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Coconut water is the tropical pick-me-up, and everyone should try it. Once, according to our reporter, who characterizes the popular drink as an acquired taste. This stand is just off the beach in Manuel Antonio on the Pacific coast. |
 A.M.
Costa Rica/Kayla Pearson
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| Iconic coconut water is at least worth a
second exploratory taste |
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By
Kayla Pearson
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff For tourists, the tropics are synonymous with warm weather and fresh fruit drinks under umbrellas by the beach. In Costa Rica, there is no shortage of these things. Meals known as casados are served with a natural juice, and persons push carts with pipa fria through all terrains. My first encounter with coconut water came during a trip to the Las Isletas off from Granada, Nicaragua. They are a cluster of 365 small islands in the midst of Lake Nicaragua. These land masses formerly were chunks of volcano Mombacho that were shed when the volcano erupted thousands of years ago. Now these islands are inhabited by both wealthy persons with mansions and locals who fish for a living. Part of my tour was to stop at the house of a local family. Upon docking our boat, children rose from their hammocks with smiles and brought us all a fresh coconut. New to the tropics, I had never seen a young coconut and was a bit shocked that the fruit I was presented with was hard and green and not brown and furry. Coconut water comes from the young fruit. The process for getting into the fruit was exciting. After giving us a “don't try this at home, you will lose a finger" speech, our guide took a large, sharp machete and hacked away at the top, until a round hole appeared. Here he placed a straw that served as a gateway to the clear liquid inside. With high expectations, I took a gulp. The taste that met my tongue was somewhat sweet, somewhat tangy and strong and peculiar. I have since heard someone describe the taste as dirty sewer water. I don't think I would go that far, but the flavor did cause my face to frown and my stomach to turn. I seemed to be the only one who didn't enjoy the drink, as others called it refreshing. For me, I would have rather had regular water. Yet, it was still entertaining to watch a person hack into the fruit. Commonly, when persons finished drinking the water, someone will chop the coconut in half then meticulously slice off a small concave piece of the side shell. |
 A.M. Costa Rica/Kayla Pearson
Opening a coconut requires a
steady handThis piece serves as a scoop for the white meat inside. The meat can then be eaten as is, or in the Caribbean it is made as a base for rice and beans. Unlike gallo pinto, the dish is cooked in coconut milk, a liquid that can be made from blending the coconut meat with water. In a mature coconut, this meat can be made into an oil- something I buy frequently from the Saturday feria as a moisturizer for my hair. Here in Costa Rica I see coconuts all around. A shop not far from my residence sells them for 250 colons or 50 cents. Vendors have them on carts at national events in the city as well as on the sand at the beach for prices that are as high as $2. Friends here tell me of the wonderful health benefits of coconut water as nature's sports drink that's full of potassium. They tell me it's even better as a half-and-half mixture of rum and coconut water, called Coco Loco. All this, plus the image from a Jamaican tourist I met in Manuel Antonio who reminisced of the divine flavor from the fruit she enjoyed as a child, led me to try the juice again. The flavor this time was not as strong, but still not as great as I wanted it to be. However, this time, I did finish the whole contents and my stomach flipped a little less. I guess it's an acquired taste. —
April 18, 2013
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Costa Rican tamales come in pairs of two. A bottle of Bavaria Blue is an added treat. |
 A.M. Costa Rica file photo
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| Costa
Rica does not have a monopoly on
the tamal |
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An
A.M. Costa Rica archive article
As the end-of-the-year holidays approach, different countries begin to prepare their comida tipica, and for Central America the popular dish is the tamal. It is usually served as the main course for Christmas. A tamal is made out of masa from maize, stuffed with a piece of meat and wrapped in a leaf. In the United States, the better known tamale is the Mexican one, made with very thick masa or dough and wrapped in corn husk. In Central America, there is a slight difference in tamales with the Mexican ones. Tamales here usually are cooked in a plantain or banana leaf wrapping. There is no universal tamal among the seven countries in Central America. Each one has its own version of the traditional dish. The differences coincide with the size, the ingredients, the preparation and, of course, the taste. According to Flor de Monroy, master Costa Rican and Guatemalan cook, the hardest tamales to make are from Guatemala. The Costa Rican native also said that Guatemalan tamales are much tastier than the ones from her country. There are not any known Guatemalan restaurants in Costa Rica, so a spokesperson for the Guatemalan Embassy recommended Ms. De Monroy. She broke down the recipes on how to make the perfect Costa Rican tamal and Guatemalan tamal colorado, so called because of the red sauce ingredient. Costa Rica She said the plantain leaf and the masa can be purchased already made at various groceries and markets which make it easy to make a Costa Rican tamal. She said to lay the plantain leaf on a flat surface, grab a handful of masa and flatten it onto the leaf, then add a pinch of cooked rice and a garbanzo bean. Some people add an egg and an olive to the middle of the tamal. She said when the tamal is formed, the cook folds up the leaf with all the ingredients inside, ties it up tightly with string. Costa Ricans tie up the tamales in a piña, two-in-two, then boil them in a pot of hot water. Mrs. de Monroy said a cook has to make sure the tamales are tied up tightly, otherwise the masa will seep out into the water. The commercial pre-made ones purchased at a grocery have a decorative strand of carrot on top of the tamal. |
Commercial
production centers
on the town of Aserrí where completed
tamales are steamed over a wood fire. Later they are reheated by
purchasers just before eating, Purists reject the use of microwaves and
say that this can dry out the tamal. They use more boiling water. The Costa Rican tamal usually is accompanied by salsa lizano or another of the commercial, bottled sauces. Guatemala Unlike the simplicity of the Costa Rican tamal, the one from the Mayan country includes a lot more vegetables and spices. And the tamal has its own sauce. Guatemalans include the ingredients of pan frances (a local mini French bread) and a recado, the special sauce, to their tamal. But first, once the masa is made or purchased, it has to be soaked with rice, then stirred together. Finally the broth from the meat is added. The broth is not obligatory, but for a stronger taste, the cooked meat juice comes from either chicken or pork. The recado can't be bought, so it has to be made from scratch. The ingredients needed are cooked or grilled red tomatoes, miltomates (tiny green tomatoes), onion, chile dulce, chile pasa, chiles guaqueres, sesame seeds, pepitoria (a dark red spice), and a stick of cinnamon. All of these are mixed together in a blender until a red liquid is produced. Then the cook boils it. Some like to let pan frances, a small piece of bread unlike the long North American French loaf, soak in the sauce until it is soggy and then blend it into the sauce for a thicker recado. Once the masa and the recado are made, the time is ripe to create the tamal. The plantain leaf is placed on a flat surface, a handful of masa is flattened into a thick tortilla, a chunk of meat is placed in the middle of the masa, and the recado is drizzled onto the meat and the masa. Two slivers of red bell peppers are placed parallel along with an olive and a caper on the masa. Finally, the leaf is folded and tied up with twine, similar to a Christmas present. The single tamal is then boiled in a hot pot of water. These recipes are by Ms. De Monroy. She is married to a Guatemalan and learned how to cook Chapin or Guatemalan when she lived in the country for many years. —
First published Nov. 18, 2011
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| Foray into business results in creating
vital gluten-free products |
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By
Kayla Pearson
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Twelve years ago Johanna Morris was sitting around her table eating plantain porridge when her father brought up the idea that they should start a business. When she inquired what kind, he responded “Why not this?” pointing to their meal. From that moment, she switched her gears to developing a natural product from her childhood to share with all of Costa Rica, she said. The family business Tropics Nature was born, and Ms. Morris  A.M. Costa Rica/Kayla Pearson
Johanna Morris displays one of
her gluten-free products. |
served as the general manager.
They harvested fruits and vegetables native to Costa Rica to make the
products. “We get the bananas and make the flour. We have industrialized all the processes,” she said. The first product in the market was green plantain flour. However, it took one day in the grocery store, for Ms. Morris to realize the value of their work. “A lady stopped me and said 'You’re the lady that makes this?' I was shocked and was like 'Yeah.' Then she said, 'You don’t know how important this is,'” she said. The lady had celiac disease, a condition where lining of the small intestines is damaged from gluten consumption. At the time Ms. Morris didn’t know what celiac was. When she found out, she realized that there were only three companies in the country providing gluten-free products. She went to work making more options, she said. “We started to investigate and develop different products,” she said. “We are like the pioneers of this product right now.” Now Tropics Nature has a full line that includes pancake mixes, bread, green banana flour, garbanzo bean flour and instant porridges. Ms. Morris represented one of 10 different women entrepreneurs who came to Banco Nacional Monday to show their ingenuity to former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet. Currently Ms. Bachelet is executive director of a United Nations agency for the equality of women. “Michelle Bachelet is an important person at defending women’s rights. The bank chose 10 of us to show our products. They are looking to support women's businesses,” Ms. Morris said. Ms. Bachelet commented that her program is very important for the future of Costa Rica. Women aren’t making equal salaries and don’t have the same opportunities as men. They climb and climb, work and work, but stay in the same place, she said. She is working to put laws in place to stop this, but she also said laws aren’t perfect. The former president also works with themes against women’s violence, prevention and services for victims. |
 A.M. Costa Rica/Aaron Knapp
From left these are cas, jocotes
and mamón chinos, all available at modest prices in Costa Rica |
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| Some different fruits that can tempt the
palate of newcomers |
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By
Aaron Knapp
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff For fresh fruit lovers, Costa Rica might be considered heaven on earth. One need not go far to find heaps of fresh bananas, pineapples, papayas, mangos, coconuts and dozens of other fruits that just do not taste the same as those shipped thousands of miles to markets around the world. However, there are also some fruits that look strange and almost as if they have sprouted hair that looks like a 60s mop-top. Though lesser known, these fruits are some of the most delicious produced in Costa Rica. Though they may appear strange, here are some of the tastiest, most convenient, uniquely Costa Rican fruit snacks out on the market. Mamón chino By far the most exotic looking fruit available at almost all Costa Rican outlets is the mamón chino. This fruit is about the size of a golf ball and looks like a deformed sea urchin that has grown red or yellow hair instead of spines. Technically the fruit and the tropical evergreen tree on which it grows is called a rambutan, and it is native to Malaysia. The chino part of the fruit's Costa Rican name stems from its Asian origin. Its Latin name is Nephelium lappaceum. When peeled, the fruit has a cloudy-white flesh very similar to the flesh of a grape. Inside is a brown pit that looks like a pecan. Although this pit can be eaten roasted, it is not advisable to eat the pit raw as it is mildly poisonous. Over the years, the Costa Rican government has encouraged farmers to grow this fruit for various reasons including to prevent farmers growing other crops that can be ravaged by diseases. Although the fruit has yet to gain popularity in the United States, a previous A.M. Costa Rica report said Costa Rica exports 1,800 metric tons to its neighbors. That story is HERE! The quickest way to get to the fruit through the inedible peel is to simply bite off a piece of the skin and peel it from there. Then one simply pops the crystal-ball colored oval into the mouth, biting gently and sucking to pry flesh that tightly clings to the pit. It takes time, but the sweet, juicy succulent fruit comes off after a few minutes of sucking. This is where the mamón comes from, loosely translating as “sucking.” In Costa Rica there are two varieties both of a different color. The red is common across all tropical countries, especially Asia, while the yellow one is more unique and especially common in Costa Rica. Both are generally available between July and November. Although prices have gone up, mamones chinos are usually available for 500 colons per half-kilo. About $1 a pound Earlier this year there were plans to make the fruit into a flavor for ice cream and yogurt. The story is HERE! Jocote Another fruit that may seem foreign is the jocote, a small fruit that ranges from green, to yellow or red and is also about the size of a deformed golf ball. This fruit is from a deciduous tree native to the tropical regions of North and South America. Although it also goes by many names including the Latin Spondias purpurea, its regional name, jocote, comes from xocotl, the Aztec word for fruit. |
 A.M. Costa Rica/Aaron Knapp
Vendor weighing fruit at the
Mercado Central.An A.M. Costa Rica report in March said Costa Rica produces 2 million tons of jocote each year, and at that time a new jocote processing plant was under way to use the flavor in a variety of processed foods. That story is HERE! The region of La Uruca de Aserrí, a prime jocote-producing region in Costa Rica, regularly holds a festival to honor the fruit. Residents make jam or use the fruit in desserts. That story is HERE! The fruit is eaten when both its skin is green and unripe as well as when it has matured and turned red or yellow. Both have a tart flavor but unripe jocotes are slightly more so. Regardless of color, the skin is edible. It's usually available for 500 colons per half kilo. The first bite hits the tongue with a wave of sourness that gradually subsides into a semi-sweet flavor with a chalky texture. As one scrapes the soft yellow pulp off of the large pit inside, each bite seems to get progressively sweeter except for the ringing twinge of acidity that lingers on the tongue from the initial bite. Unlike with the mamón chino, no amount of sucking will get flesh of the jocote off the seed and one must scrape it off with the teeth. More on jocotes can be found HERE! Cas Finally another fruit that may seem strange to newcomers is known as cas in Costa Rica. Very similar to the jocote, it is a small, greenish yellow, spherical fruit, but inside there is a juicy center with dozens of small, white seeds that are edible if chewed hard enough. Although the fruit may seem strange, it is actually a type of guava which has become a relatively common find in United States markets or is at least a fruit that Gringos can recognize. This variety is just slightly bigger than the jocote. In fact, dozens of guava varieties grow in Costa Rica including cas, regular guava, pineapple guava, strawberry guava and others. A more detailed analysis of the different kinds of guava available in Costa Rica is HERE! Unlike its sweeter relatives, biting into a cas will result in a punch of sour and is only slightly more pleasant than sucking on a lemon. Although the entire fruit can be eaten, peel, seeds and all, it is largely uncommon to eat this fruit by itself. People here treat cas like people in the United States treat lemons: When life gives Costa Ricans cas, they make cas-aid. Juice made from the fruit is very common at all varieties of Costa Rican restaurants, especially sodas. |
| Mysteries of shopping for fish less obscure with new guide |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The consumer section of the economics ministry has decreed that fish ought to be sold under their common names. And inspectors will be enforcing that edict as they tour marketplaces. But Costa Rica has an abundance of fish species, and even the experts sometimes are confused. So Fundación MarViva has come out with a free booklet that provides identification for the bulk of the edible species. In addition to a description, the booklet provides a photo of the fish and close ups of fillets that come from the fish. The Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio also said that the Spanish-language booklet will help shoppers from being tricked at the market. There are 26 fish species, ranging from eels to sports fish displayed in the booklet. There also is a summary of the February regulation handed down by the ministry regarding the way fish have to be identified by a label. The ministry said that fish merchants have been using fantasy names to enhance the perception of certain cuts of their product. Shark, for example, has a number of different names in the marketplace. The 62-page booklet also provides tips on handling fresh and frozen fish and how to identify fresh products. For each fish species, the booklet tells from where it comes. Various types of shrimp come from either the Gulf of Nicoya or from deeper waters. The description also tells how the fish |
 Fundación MarViva graphic
Page on tilapia seeks to
show the difference between CostaRican fish and an imported fillet (right). is caught, either by line or by various types of nets. The summary also sometimes describes how merchants will offer the product under other names. Eel, for example, sometimes is called filete especial or filete de corvina especial. The descriptions also include commonly imported fish, some from fresh water. Latin names also are given. Copies are available at the ministry Web site, the MarViva Web site or the Web site of the Ministerio de Agricultura y Gandería. Editors also have posted a copy HERE!. —
Aug. 21, 2012
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The bottles are Cruz Blanca, Big Cola, Fanta, Inca Cola, Milory and another version of Big Cola. The chips in front are plain Pringles to clean the Pallet of taste testers. |
 A.M. Costa Rica/Dennis Rogers
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| New entry Inca Cola fairs well in
evaluation by young experts |
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By
Dennis Rogers
Special to A.M. Costa Rica With the arrival of Inca Cola to the Costa Rican soft drink market, A.M. Costa Rica has compared it to the existing competitors so readers don’t have to. A team of experts subjected the products to careful scrutiny and passed judgment on the four main competitors in the kolita class. Inca Cola is “the pride of Peru,” preferred by many there to regular colas, like the one in the hourglass bottle, on a nationalistic basis. It isn’t actually a cola in taste, but instead a sweet drink originally flavored with jamaica or hibiscus flowers. It is now available in Supermercados Unidos outlets like Mas X Menos and Walmart, imported in bottled form. The equivalent locally produced kolita beverages are products sold alongside orange or grape flavored sodas in most any supermarket or neighborhood pulpería. The Coca Cola product is called Fanta and is sold mostly in bottles. The company which is widely considered the most valuable brand in the world doesn’t need much introduction. Pepsi for this line is represented by Florida Ice & Farm, the monopoly brewer in Costa Rica. The kolita product is called Milory. Also from Peru originally is Big Cola, which broke into the Costa Rican market in 2004 despite considerable resistance from the established multinationals, who were eventually accused before Costa Rica’s competition commission of using spurious environmental complaints against the new entrant. Big Cola made its mark with large bottles aimed at the lower socio-economic strata, with minimal amounts of syrup and bottles about as thin as is possible by blow molding PET plastic. These were sold at small neighborhood stores until the company eventually reached all the supermarket chains. Once established in the market, an additional bottling line allowed Big Cola to add other presentations of different bottle sizes. Representatives of Big Cola claimed they are the reason other companies have changed to 3-liter sizes and also the return of the smurf bottle from Coke, according to news reports. Big Cola’s different sized bottles have different descriptions, with some saying strawberry, some jamaica, and some just red. Jamaica wasn’t located for the study. An additional market participant is Cruz Blanca, with a carbonated version of the cola syrup that can be purchased to make refrescos. The taste-testers’ grandmother has been known to subject chan, a seed that looks like frogs’ eggs when soaked in water, to this treatment producing a savagely sweet refresco. Cola syrup is also the red fluid that is often put on shaved-ice copos. Cruz Blanca’s pop seems only to be available in Periféricos supermarkets in a small bottle. The Euromonitor market research company has overall consumption of carbonated soft drinks in Costa Rica at just under $500 million, with Coca Cola at 70 percent, Pepsi at 18 percent, and Big Cola most of the remainder. These figures are from 2010. Test subjects were a Costa Rican/U.S. duel national male, 12 years old, and another female aged 8. Both have a known |
 A.M. Costa Rica/Dennis Rogers
The panel of cola expertspenchant for sweets. They tasted
each brand and were asked leading questions about its aroma, sweetness
and strength, bouquet, and amount of carbonation. The palate was
cleansed with plain Pringles between samples. Expectoration was not
allowed. The experts considered the appearance in a glass and the
presentation of the product itself.
All six samples were chilled overnight. Service was in a small water glass. Fanta was essentially the benchmark to which others were compared. It scored intermediate in the important factors, being sweet with moderate carbonation and orangey color. Milory is stronger and sweeter, mostly due to less carbonation and is less brightly colored also. One tester described the taste as “rotten strawberry.” Inca was scored high on flavor and carbonation with a much fruitier bouquet, evoking lemon or banana. Inca Cola has a bright yellow color which some might associate with dehydration after a long hike in the Peruvian coastal deserts, as opposed to the red of the other brands. This could have been a cause of bias. The Cruz Blanca product was considered little more than a watered down version of the syrup with hardly any carbonation. One tester described it as “weird” and both noted a slight salty or bitter taste. Two different presentations of Big Cola were tried, strawberry and just red. Nobody detected any hint of strawberry in either. Both experts said the red had little taste. Red has some more carbonation while the strawberry has “little, little, little” gas. Big Cola is the regional partner of the Barcelona football team, with some players on the labels. Uniforms show the old Unicef promotion before the team sold out to a Qatari consortium as part of the conspiracy to have the 2020 World Cup there. The two presentations don’t show the same players however, as red has Villa, Puyols, former coach Pep Guardiola, Messi, and Iniesta, while fresa has Villa, Puyols, Messi, Pedro, and goalkeeper Valdez. Adults present detected a slightly bitter aftertaste to both Big Cola products but found them barely distinguishable. With Inka the most palatable, adults generally find all of the tested products to taste like bubblegum. —
Originally published June 16, 2012
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| New chamber will try to promote more
mushroom cultivation |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The country imports 45 tons of mushrooms every month, but the national production is only 3 tons a year. This is something that a new organization of growers is trying to change. The organization, the Cámara Costarricense de Productores y Exportadores de Hongos, is in the process of developing training programs for those who might be interested in growing mushrooms. So far just 20 families are commercial mushroom producers. The country appears to be well situated as a mushroom-growing region. Growers are using saw dust, coffee waste and other discarded agricultural materials to grow mushrooms. Lida Soto Solano is president of the Asociación de Mujeres Agrícolas de Cartago, an organization that has been growing mushrooms for 15 years. She said there are many openings from the most rudimentary effort to the most modern with computer controlled facilities. She and her organization produce gourmet oyster mushrooms, a delicacy. She said that she fries them for two minutes with butter and garlic and eats them with crackers. The oyster mushroom also has been credited with lowering cholesterol. The Universidad de Costa Rica gave a start to mushroom production in 1997. The university still is involved. The Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería also is promoting the effort to increase production. —
First published April 24, 2012
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 Ministerio de Agricultura y
Ganadería photo
Oyster mushrooms are well-known
for growing on the side of mature trees. But they can be grown anywhere
with the right type of material, such as agricultural waste. |
| Drink your Costa Rican coffee, it's good
for you, scientists say |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Coffee is emerging as the miracle product, especially if you are a mouse. The Costa Rica cash crop has been getting plaudits for years from medical researchers. The most recent report says that the combined effect of caffeine and exercise may protect against skin cancer caused by sun exposure. The Rutgers University study said that mice at high risk for developing skin cancer showed 62 percent fewer skin tumors when they were fed doses of caffeine, according to the American Association for Cancer Research, which is ending its annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois, today. “I believe we may extrapolate these findings to humans and anticipate that we would benefit from these combination treatments as well,” said Yao-Ping Lu, the principal researcher at the New Jersey university's pharmacy school. Last year, researchers at the same university suggested that a sun screen containing caffeine might ward off dangerous rays. Also last year a report in the The Journal of Physical Chemistry B of the American Chemical Society said that caffeine seems to protect against Alzheimer's and heart disease. The report was based on the consumption of coffee and tea. The society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reported in 2010 that drinking coffee may cut the risk of Type Two diabetes, at least in mice. A 2009 Indiana University found that caffeine can reduce exercise-induced asthma. Other medical studies in 2007 report a reduced risk of liver |
 A.M. Costa Rica graphic
Although many coffee drinkers
like to smoke, too, scientists say that tobacco heavily outweighs the
benefits of caffeine.cancer with coffee drinking and that coffee may protect against uterine cancer. Scientists say that coffee has far more antioxidants than many vegetables and fruits, according to a Harvard School of Public Health study. Drinking coffee also reduces body weight, according to another study. In most cases, the studies were conducted of varieties of mice, but scientists believe that the results are applicable to humans. The uterine cancer study was based on a 26-year study of women, but the researchers noted that the coffee drinkers were not randomly selected and randomly assigned to test groups. Costa Rica exports some 200,000 tons of coffee a year, and the coffee grown here is believed to be higher in caffeine than crops elsewhere. The bean is the country's third largest export. —
April 4, 2012
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| Green coffee is bitter, but study says it
takes off the weight |
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By
the American Chemical Society news staff
Scientists today reported striking new evidence that green, or unroasted, coffee beans can produce a substantial decrease in body weight in a relatively short period of time. In a study presented at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, Joe Vinson and colleagues described how a group of overweight or obese people who consumed a fraction of an ounce of ground green coffee beans each day lost about 10 percent of their body weight. “Based on our results, taking multiple capsules of green coffee extract a day — while eating a low-fat, healthful diet and exercising regularly — appears to be a safe, effective, inexpensive way to lose weight,” Vinson said at the society meeting being held in San Diego, California. He is with the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. The study involved 16 overweight or obese people aged 22 to 26 years who took capsules of the extract or capsules containing a placebo, an inactive powder, for a total of 22 weeks. The subjects alternated between a low dose and a higher dose of the extract. The low dose consisted of 700 miligrams of the coffee extract, and the high dose was 1,050 miligrams. It was a so-called cross-over study in which people cycled through the two doses and the placebo, each for six weeks. Such studies have advantages because each person serves as his or her own control, improving the chances of getting an accurate result, researchers said. All of the participants were monitored for their overall diet and exercise over the study period. “Their calories, carbohydrates, fats and protein intake did not change during the study, nor did their exercise regimen change,” Vinson said. |
 Green
coffee dries in the sun on a Costa Rica plantation.
Participants lost an average of 17 pounds during the 22 weeks of the study. It included an average of a 10.5 percent decrease in overall body weight and a 16 percent decrease in body fat. Vinson noted that weight loss might have been significantly faster, except that participants received the placebo and the lower dose of green coffee extract for part of the study period. Vinson pointed out that previous studies have shown weight loss with green coffee. But this was the first to use higher amounts of the coffee extract and the first to measure the response to various doses. Based on those studies, Vinson believes that green coffee beans’ effects likely are due to a substance called chlorogenic acid that is present in unroasted coffee beans. Chlorogenic acid breaks down when coffee beans are roasted, usually at a temperature of 464 to 482 degrees F. Roasting gives coffee beans their distinctive color, aroma and flavor. Green coffee beans, in contrast, have little aroma and a slightly bitter taste. —
March 28, 2012
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| Producers seek more commerical uses for
the jocote fruit |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
First published March 12, 2012
Jocote growers soon will have a processing plant to make other uses of
the fruit.The jocote (Spondias purpurea) is a small green fruit that frequently is seen in bags at ferias and in the stalls of street vendors. There is a large seed inside, so the usual way to consume them is by nibbling the outside pulp perhaps with some salt and lime juice. The ripe fruit can be processed further into jams, syrup and other food products. There are more than 350 jocote producers in León Cortes and Aserrí. But the producers worry about the fluctuations in prices and are seeking other uses for the fruit to safeguard their harvest. Costa Rica produces about 2 million kilos of jocote a year. The new processing plant is in La Uruca de Aserrí. It is being promoted by the Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de la Uruca de Aserrí and the Asociación de Productores de Jocote. The 45-million-colon plant was financed by the Ministerio de Agricultura y Gandería and the Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social. The dollar amount is $90,000. Inauguration is Friday. |
 File photo
Ripe jocotes are sweeter than
green, but both are great.With commercial production of various bottled food products, the jocote can be an exported. Sometimes the pulp is mixed with that of the mango and other tropical fruits to produce a syrup. Local producers see the fruit being used in chileras, ceviche and even wine. There are about 500 hectares (about 1,240 acres) in jocote trees, said the ministry. |
| Self-denial and penance does not mean a poor diet during Lent |
|
|
By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Originally published March 6, 2012 As Costa Ricans observe the Catholic period of Lent, the diet turns to something other than red meat. Lent, called Cuaresma in Spanish, is supposed to be a period of penance, fasting, abstinence and reflection. The period also is a time to take full advantage of seafoods and some of the derivatives of the chiverre squash. This is why the stores are full of displays promoting various types of canned fish products. Cod has become synonymous with Lent, and there are a number of soups and casseroles that use this fish product. The traditions in Costa Rica have changed over the years. Now many families head to the beach for Semana Santa instead of sitting home to pray on Good Friday with the stove, radio and other distractions turned off. Although there are many other religious faiths in Costa Rica, the culinary traditions of Lent seem to be nearly universal. Costa Rican Jews, of course, are preparing for Passover, and that is a time rich in tradition with some shared food specialties. After all, those at the Last Supper were Jews. An observant Catholic is supposed to forsake red meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent. That's where the seafoods enter the picture. Theologians have wracked their brains considering the gray areas of abstinence, but no one can go wrong with sardines, tuna, ceviche or shrimp and rice. The Museo Nacional reports that at one time Costa Ricans abstained from cooking during the entire Semana Santa, the days leading up to Holy Thursday and Good Friday. That was the time before microwaves. But the culinary tradition lingers on with non-perishable foods like palmito, encurtidos and pastries prepared the previous weekend. The 40-plus days of Lent also call for alms-giving, fasting on certain days and prayer. Self-denial and good works do not exclude a rich soup of cod, called bacalao in Spanish. Some markets have specials at this time of year to cater to the religious customers. Others jack up the prices. Many types of fish are pricey all the time. A can of cod that drains to about three ounces sells for about 2,700 colons, more than $5. Jumbo shrimp require a second mortgage. In San José perhaps the best shopping is at the Mercado Central or at small markets south of Avenida 6. There also are the weekend agricultural ferias. The chiverre squash, Cucurbita ficifolia, found only in Central and South America, requires ample preparation and can be found all over the Central Valley. They are brought from farms by the truckload. There are three different ways to serve it: chiverre with pink sugar, with black sugar cane or con tapa de dulce de caña and finally by using a trapiche or small mill to create a conserve. Recipes are HERE! Tapas de dulce are those circular blocks of brown sugar made from cane. During this season, Ticos think automatically of miel de chiverre, coco ayote and arroz con leche. These family recipes have been transmitted across time. To |
 A.M. Costa Rica
photo
The sardines and cod come in
many varieties A.M. Costa Rica file
photo
Miel
de chiverre becomes a sweet jam that meansSemana Santa more than any Costa Rican food. be faithful to Grandma’s recipe a certain tapa de azucar or a certain bean must be used or the taste will not be the same. The freshness of the ingredients is really important, and this is why a feria del agricultor is a place to find the basics to prepare the food. The fairs themselves are full of wonderful colors, beautiful products and low prices. Ceviche is chopped, marinated raw fish credited to the ancient Peruvians. It can be seasoned with peppers and herbs from the feria. Encurtidos are pickled pieces of vegetable that are best purchased in a jar at the market. The Lenten season leads up to Easter Sunday when self-denial is not required and the table can groan under the beef, pork and lamb dishes that make waiting more than 40 days worthwhile. Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, was Feb. 22, Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Semana Santa, is April 1 this year. Good Friday is April 6, and Easter is April 8. |
| Former Lindora restaurant operator now serves Indian cuisine |
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|
By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A restaurateur who used to operate an outlet in Lindora, Santa Ana, has opened Taste of India in San Jose's downtown. The restaurant is on the south side of Avenida Primera between calles 11 and 9. The operator is Abdul Malik Shamsuddin. The furnishing are modest, but the food is not. The owner is quick to greet customers as they enter the long, narrow former retail store. He will explain the types of dishes, including the several selections of curry. Of course, diners can determine how hot their food should be. A treat is the vegetable samosa, two for 2,000 colons or about $4. They also come containing chicken. The content is surrounded by a triangular pastry. The tamarindo sauce goes well with both types. The owner said that he has applied for a beer and wine license and suggested that some of the food would benefit from accompaniment by wine. Naturally the restaurant serves naan bread, both plain and with garlic and butter. This is a Middle Eastern standard, a baked flatbread. They look like small pizza shells or a pita without |
the pockets. The
price is just 1,400 colons each or about $3. The main course can be chicken tikka masala for 6,500 colons or about $13. This is the well-known chicken in a spicy sauce. This curry dish is a standard even in Britain. The aloo gobi for 5,500 colons is a vegetarian mixture of potatoes, cauliflower and, of course, curry and spices. The bill for two persons at Taste of India was 28,507 colons, including 5,300 colons for service and taxes. That's about $56 and includes tea, juice, a soda, extra basmati rice and dessert. The owner came to Costa Rica via Canada, so there is no language problem even for monolingual tourists. The waitress also is bilingual. Another development downtown is the demise of the News Cafe, the popular restaurant in the Hotel Presidente. The space in the northwest corner of the hotel on the pedestrian mall has been draped in black plastic because a cell telephone company will be moving in after construction. Unknown to most passersby is that the hotel now has a restaurant inside in the lobby. Gone is the panorama of Costa Rican daily life on the pedestrian mall, but there also is no beggar seeking money from diners. —Jan.
23, 2012
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| Hopes of importing beer made with hemp go
up in smoke |
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|
By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Originallly
posted Jan. 4. 2012
Anyone who wants to drink hemp beer in Costa Rica will have to brew
their own. The Sala Primera, a branch of the Corte Suprema de Justicia,
has ruled again that such beer cannot be offered for sale in Costa Rica.Hemp beer is a specialty brew that is said to have a more creamy head than conventional beer. And hemp and hops, the usual beer ingredient, is said to be close relatives. Nevertheless, the Sala Primera magistrates rejected an appeal from the Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo, which also rejected the importation of the product. Originally the beer was rejected by the health ministry, the Ministerio de Salud, in 2008. Since then the case was in various courts. The Sala Primera originally rejected the beer, a Swiss product called Hanfblüte, which was going to be marketed here by a firm named Nikimar S.A. The Sala Primera originally rejected an appeal in March and then did so again late last year on a rehearing. The would-be importers argued that the law against drug products was so broad that it covered morphine, which is imported into the country. They also argued that the beer |
 could not be converted into marijuana. The beer has an alcohol content of 5.2 percent. Hanfblüte distributers have run into trouble in Europe when they advertised the beer with a marijuana leaf graphic. Marijuana is readily available in Costa Rica, and the Internet provides recipes for making hemp beer. |
| Marriage of pork, beans and rice was invented here as chifrijo |
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|
By
Zach McDonald
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Bar food, whether it´s fried, spicy or starchy, is a necessity with beer, friends and sporting events. This cultural fact is not lost in Costa Rica. The bars and restaurants have a litany of dishes to choose from, but one stands out because of its origins in the country. The chifrijo is a dish that has been around since the early 90s when it started being served in local bars and restaurants in and around San José. Shortly after the genesis of the chifrijo, the dish began to spread through Latin America and was registered by the dish's claimed creator Miguel Angel Araya Cordero, the owner of bars and restaurants. The term chifrijo was coined by Cordero and comes from the combination of two terms. Chicharrones, or fried pork rinds, and frijoles, which is basically what the dish is at the core. The combination of pork and beans is combined in a bowl with rice and then topped with diced onions, tomatoes, peppers and cilantro. After corn chips and a spritz of lime are added, the chifrijo is complete. There are subtle variations on the dish from bar to bar, but the chain of Cordero´s restaurants maintains the original can only be tasted at their locations. The price is from 800 colons ($1.60) to 1,300 colons (about $2.60) depending on the restaurnt and the size of the serving. To date, the chifrijo is the only
culinary invention in Costa Rica to be patented in the Registro de la
Propiedad, the bar owner said.
— Dec. 13, 2011
|
 A.M. Costa Rica/Zach McDonald
The chifrijo ready to eat. |
| One-night art exhibit is using food as the artists' medium |
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|
By
Shahrazad Encinias Vela
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff The Alliance Française is hosting a one-night-only food as art exhibit where the patrons can not only enjoy or critique the piece but also eat it. The exhibition is at the Casa del Cuño in the Antigua Aduana Thursday 7:30 p.m. The French cultural organization is not charging money but rather a small raw potato for cover charge in celebration of the exhibit “No entiendo ni papa.” This is where gastronomy meets art. Space is limited, available to the first 500 people. The Bon ArtPetite celebrates its fourth year with the Costa Rican saying “No entiendo ni papa.” This is slang for “I don't understand anything.” The art collective features six different artist groups, each with |
their own
proposal to interpret the theme using food. The artists were chosen
through a panel in August. There are six different art teams, in total
there are 10 artists participating in the food art creation. One group proposed to give a modern twist to Costa Rican folklore food, with this they intend to deceive the senses of the spectators. Another exhibitor is using meat as the object. And most artists are using the potato as their object. The exhibit first began in 2008, inspired by the movement “Eat art” from the 1960s. This is an aspect of art where food is the theme. The Antiqua Aduana is the refurbished brick former customs house on Calle 23 in east San José. —
Dec. 7, 2011
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| Food detectives use high tech to spot lesser-quality marzipan |
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|
By
the American Chemical Society News Service
With the December holidays a peak season for indulging in marzipan, scientists are reporting the development of a new test that can tell the difference between the real thing — a pricey but luscious paste made from ground almonds and sugar — and cheap fakes made from ground soy, peas and other ingredients. The report appears in the Aemrican Chemical society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Although primarily a European dish, marzipan can be found in Costa Rica. A bakery in Liberia adds the tasty paste to cakes, and others make marizapan in the home with almonds, sugar and a bit of vanilla. Ilka Haase and colleagues explained in the journal article that marzipan is a popular treat, especially at Christmas and New Year’s, when displays of marzipan sculpted into fruit, Santa and tree shapes pop up in stores. And cakes like marzipan stollen (a rich combo of raisins, nuts and cherries with a marzipan filling) are a holiday tradition. But the cost of almonds leads some unscrupulous manufacturers to use cheap substitutes like ground-up peach seeds, soybeans or peas. Current methods for detecting that trickery have drawbacks, allowing counterfeit marzipan to slip onto the market to unsuspecting consumers. To improve the detection of contaminants in marzipan, the researchers became food detectives and adapted a method called the polymerase chain |
 American Chemical Society photo
Stollen, a rich combo of
raisins, nuts and cherries with a marzipan filling, is a holiday
tradition with Germanic roots.reaction — the same test famed for use in crime scene investigations. They tested various marzipan concoctions with different amounts of apricot seeds, peach seeds, peas, beans, soy, lupine, chickpeas, cashews and pistachios. Polymerase chain reaction enabled researchers to easily finger the doctored pastes. They could even detect small amounts — as little as 0.1 percent — of an almond substitute. The researchers say that the polymerase chain reaction method could serve as a perfect tool for the routine screening of marzipan pastes for small amounts of contaminants. Some Costa Ricans do use other types of products to make marzipan, but they do so for the flavor. Pine nuts are used elsewhere. |
Costa Rican tamales come in pairs of two. A bottle of Bavaria Blue is an added treat. |
A.M. Costa Rica/Zach McDonald
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| Costa Rica does not have a monopoly on
the tamal |
|
|
By Shahrazad Encinias
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Originally
published Nov.18
As the end-of-the-year holidays approach, different countries begin to
prepare their comida tipica,
and for Central America the popular dish is the tamal.It is usually served as the main course for Christmas. A tamal is made out of masa from maize, stuffed with a piece of meat and wrapped in a leaf. In the United States, the better known tamale is the Mexican one, made with very thick masa or dough and wrapped in corn husk. In Central America, there is a slight difference in tamales with the Mexican ones. Tamales here usually are cooked in a plantain or banana leaf wrapping. There is no universal tamal among the seven countries in Central America. Each one has its own version of the traditional dish. The differences coincide with the size, the ingredients, the preparation and, of course, the taste. According to Flor de Monroy, master Costa Rican and Guatemalan cook, the hardest tamales to make are from Guatemala. The Costa Rican native also said that Guatemalan tamales are much tastier than the ones from her country. There are not any known Guatemalan restaurants in Costa Rica, so a spokesperson for the Guatemalan Embassy recommended Ms. De Monroy. She broke down the recipes on how to make the perfect Costa Rican tamal and Guatemalan tamal colorado, so called because of the red sauce ingredient. Costa Rica She said the plantain leaf and the masa can be purchased already made at various groceries and markets which make it easy to make a Costa Rican tamal. She said to lay the plantain leaf on a flat surface, grab a handful of masa and flatten it onto the leaf, then add a pinch of cooked rice and a garbanzo bean. Some people add an egg and an olive to the middle of the tamal. She said when the tamal is formed, the cook folds up the leaf with all the ingredients inside, ties it up tightly with string. Costa Ricans tie up the tamales in a piña, two-in-two, then boil them in a pot of hot water. Mrs. de Monroy said a cook has to make sure the tamales are tied up tightly, otherwise the masa will seep out into the water. The commercial pre-made ones purchased at a grocery have a decorative strand of carrot on top of the tamal. |
Commercial
production centers on the town of Aserrí where completed tamales
are steamed over a wood fire. Later they are reheated by purchasers
just before eating, Purists reject the use of microwaves and say that
this can dry out the tamal. They use more boiling water. The Costa Rican tamal usually is accompanied by salsa lizano or another of the commercial, bottled sauces. Guatemala Unlike the simplicity of the Costa Rican tamal, the one from the Mayan country includes a lot more vegetables and spices. And the tamal has its own sauce. Guatemalans include the ingredients of pan frances (a local mini French bread) and a recado, the special sauce, to their tamal. But first, once the masa is made or purchased, it has to be soaked with rice, then stirred together. Finally the broth from the meat is added. The broth is not obligatory, but for a stronger taste, the cooked meat juice comes from either chicken or pork. The recado can't be bought, so it has to be made from scratch. The ingredients needed are cooked or grilled red tomatoes, miltomates (tiny green tomatoes), onion, chile dulce, chile pasa, chiles guaqueres, sesame seeds, pepitoria (a dark red spice), and a stick of cinnamon. All of these are mixed together in a blender until a red liquid is produced. Then the cook boils it. Some like to let pan frances, a small piece of bread unlike the long North American French loaf, soak in the sauce until it is soggy and then blend it into the sauce for a thicker recado. Once the masa and the recado are made, the time is ripe to create the tamal. The plantain leaf is placed on a flat surface, a handful of masa is flattened into a thick tortilla, a chunk of meat is placed in the middle of the masa, and the recado is drizzled onto the meat and the masa. Two slivers of red bell peppers are placed parallel along with an olive and a caper on the masa. Finally, the leaf is folded and tied up with twine, similar to a Christmas present. The single tamal is then boiled in a hot pot of water. These recipes are by Ms. De Monroy. She is married to a Guatemalan and learned how to cook Chapin or Guatemalan when she lived in the country for many years. |
| There is something magical about the union of rice and milk |
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|
By
the A.M. Costa Rica food staff
Each Costa Rican consumes on average more than 100 pounds of rice each year, according to the country's rice commission, the Corporación Arrocera Nacional. One reason could be yummy arroz con leche. With arroz con leche, there is no reason to have rice leftovers because the first step is to cook some rice. Some sources suggest cooking the rice with water and milk. Others say the milk can be added later. Once there is a large pot of cooked rice, the grain begins the transformation from dietary staple to famous dessert. The Oryza News, which covers the rice market in the United States and the world suggests using short-grain rice as this gives the result a creamier texture. Oryza News suggests cooking the rice with milk, a cinnamon stick, an orange or lemon peel and a dash of salt at medium heat with frequent stirring. Once the rice is cooked and the mixture is removed from the heat, butter and vanilla are added with sugar to taste. Other cooks just dump the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, butter |
 Photo by Oryza News http://oryza.com
The finished product garnished with cinnamon
and even raisins into the cooked
rice and sugar to taste. Then they cook the mixture on low heat for 30
to 45 minutes.
Arroz con leche can be served warm or after being chilled in the refrigerator. |
| Effort
launched to define a unique Costa Rican cuisine |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The French probably have nothing to worry about yet, but Costa Rica is launching its national plan of healthy and sustainable cuisine. The effort is a joint one among the Cámara Costarricense de Restaurantes y Afines, the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad and the Club de la Gastronomía Epicúrea. The organizations announced the plan Wednesday as part of the World Tourism Day celebration. The idea is to create a unique cuisine to strengthen the national identity and perhaps even create new businesses. Costa Rica basically is defined by gallo pinto, rice and beans. But the announcement suggested that there were a lot of food products here that could create a unique dish, such as risotto with flor de itabo or malanga chips. The Costa Rican embassy in France promotes the Costa Rican cuisine as based on corn, beans, pejibaye and palmito. The embassy Web page includes a little poem to guaro, the national alcoholic drink. But the proposal Wednesday is more complex and more creative. The organizations cited the work of Carlos Castrillo, executive chef of the Hotel Ramada Plaza Herradura. He |
put together a full menu based on
local products such as the pejibaye palm nut and the níspero or sapodilla fruit. The proposal is to rescue traditional foods and perhaps protect the flora and fauna of areas in risk of deforestation by suggesting alternate foods. In fact, the Ministerio de Cultura and Juventud has conducted regional contests seeking the best of the local cuisine. These dishes have been put into booklets. So the research already exists. The proposal also marks the 30th anniversary of the restaurant chamber. Manuel Burgos, president of the chamber, said that to put such a plan into action would require coordination with educational institutions. He said it was an ambitious, long-term project. Expats can experiment with products usually found at the local ferias. For example, malanga is a root crop. And flor de itabo is very seasonal. The white flowers of this yucca plant are collected each year, mostly by those in the country, to provide zest for their meals. One use is in scrambled eggs. But it also can be used in a salad. Although guaro is well known as a local version of sugar cane alcohol, the country also produces several types of coffee liquor as well as rum. So crepes de flor de itabo flambé would not be out of the question. |
| Scientists show how New World yeast created lager beer |
|
|
By
the University of Wisconsin-Madison news service
In the 15th century, when Europeans first began moving people and goods across the Atlantic, a microscopic stowaway somehow made its way to the caves and monasteries of Bavaria. The stowaway, a yeast that may have been transported from a distant shore on a piece of wood or in the stomach of a fruit fly, was destined for great things. In the dank caves and monastery cellars where 15th century brewmeisters stored their product, the newly arrived yeast fused with a distant relative, the domesticated yeast used for millennia to make leavened bread and ferment wine and ale. The resulting hybrid — representing a marriage of species as evolutionarily separated as humans and chickens — would give the world lager, the clear, cold-fermented beer first brewed by 15th century Bavarians and that today is among the most popular — if not the most popular — alcoholic beverage in the world. And while scientists and brewers have long known that the yeast that gives beer the capacity to ferment at cold temperatures was a hybrid, only one player was known: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast used to make leavened bread and ferment wine and ale. Its partner, which conferred on beer the ability to ferment in the cold, remained a puzzle, as scientists were unable to find it among the 1,000 or so species of yeast known to science. Now, an international team of researchers believes it has identified the wild yeast that, in the age of sail, apparently traveled more than 7,000 miles to those Bavarian caves to make a fortuitous microbial match that today underpins the $250 billion a year lager beer industry. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Portugal, Argentina and the United States describe the discovery of a wild yeast in the beech forests of Patagonia, the alpine region at the tip of South America, that apparently solves the age-old mystery of the origin of the yeast that made cold-temperature fermentation and lager beer possible. “People have been hunting for this thing for decades,” explains Chris Todd Hittinger, a University of Wisconsin-Madison genetics professor and a co-author of the new study. “And now we’ve found it. It is clearly the missing species. The only thing we can’t say is if it also exists elsewhere (in the wild) and hasn’t been found.” Expanding the search to other parts of the world, however, finally paid dividends when collaborator Diego Libkind of the Institute for Biodiversity and Environment Research in Bariloche, Argentina, found in galls that infect beech trees a candidate species whose genetic material seemed to be a close match to the missing half of the lager yeast. “Beech galls are very rich in simple sugars. It’s a sugar rich habitat that yeast seem to love,” notes Hittinger. The yeast is so active in the galls, according to Libkind, that they spontaneously ferment. “When overmature, they fall all together to the floor where they often form a thick carpet that has an intense ethanol odor, most probably due to the hard work of our new Saccharomyces eubayanus.” The new yeast was hustled off to the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where a team that included |
 University of Wisconsin-Madison/Barry
Carlsen
This
is route yeast is believed to have taken
 Institute for Biodiversity and Environment
Research,/ Diego Libkind
Orange-colored galls on a
Patagonian tree.Hittinger, Jim Dover and Mark Johnston sequenced its genome. “It proved to be distinct from every known wild species of yeast, but was 99.5 percent identical to the non-ale yeast portion of the lager genome,” says Hittinger. The Colorado team also identified genetic mutations in the lager yeast hybrid distinctive from the genome of the wild lager yeast. Those changes — taking place in a brewing environment where evolution can be amped up by the abundance of yeast — accumulated since those first immigrant yeasts melded with their ale cousins 500 years ago and have refined the lager yeast’s ability to metabolize sugar and malt and to produce sulfites, transforming an organism that evolved on beech trees into a lean, mean beer-making machine. “Our discovery suggests that hybridization instantaneously formed an imperfect proto-lager yeast that was more cold-tolerant than ale yeast and ideal for the cool Bavarian lagering process,” Hittinger said. “After adding some new variation for brewers to exploit, its sugar metabolism probably became more like ale yeast and better at producing beer.” |
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